Minus the Bear | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Seattle, Washington, US |
Genres | Indie rock, math rock, alternative rock, experimental rock, progressive rock |
Years active | 2001–2018 |
Labels | |
Past members | Jake Snider Dave Knudson Alex Rose Cory Murchy Matt Bayles Erin Tate |
Website | minusthebear |
Minus the Bear was an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, [1] in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound was described as "Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophisticated time signature composition." [2] [3]
Minus the Bear released six albums and four EPs. The band's final line-up consisted of Jake Snider (vocals, guitar), Dave Knudson (guitar), Cory Murchy (bass guitar), and Alex Rose (synthesizers, vocals). On July 17, 2018, the band announced their retirement and accompanying farewell tour. [4] Their final live performance was December 16, 2018, at The Showbox in Seattle.
Minus the Bear formed in 2001, and played its first gig three days after 9/11 at the Seattle venue The Paradox. [5] Suicide Squeeze Records released their debut full-length album Highly Refined Pirates on November 19, 2002.
On January 2, 2006, Matt Bayles, keyboard player and producer for Minus the Bear, announced that he would be leaving the band to focus all his time on his career as a producer. His last performance with the band was on January 28, 2006. He was replaced by Alex Rose, who previously worked as a sound engineer on the band's second full-length album, Menos el Oso . Interpretaciones del Oso , an album of remixed songs from their second full-length album Menos el Oso, was released on February 20, 2007, by Suicide Squeeze Records. [6]
The band's third full-length album, Planet of Ice , was released on August 21, 2007, by Suicide Squeeze Records and contains ten tracks. As well as an exclusive iTunes bonus track titled "Cat Calls & Ill Means", a bonus CD containing two B-sides, "Electric Rainbow" and "Patiently Waiting", a demo version of "Ice Monster", and a remix by P.O.S. of the album's first single, "Knights", was released with the album's first edition.
In 2008, the band recorded four tracks live on Daytrotter that were released for free with a membership to the website. [7] Later that year, the band also released an acoustic EP, Acoustics , which contained an unreleased track, "Guns & Ammo", and acoustic versions of six previously released tracks. On October 27, 2009, the band released a two-song single, "Into The Mirror", on various digital music outlets; exclusive 7" vinyl copies were sold on tour. [8]
On February 17, 2010, Dangerbird Records announced that it had signed Minus the Bear and that it would distribute the group's next release. [9] A week later, it was announced that the album was titled Omni and that it was scheduled to be released on May 4, 2010. [10] On May 8, 2010, Minus the Bear was the first band to be featured on RadioVA and was interviewed by David Lowery. [11] On August 5, 2010, Minus the Bear opened for fellow Seattle band Soundgarden in their pre-Lollapalooza warm up show at the Vic Theatre in Chicago.
On January 9, 2012, the band began recording a fifth full-length album with producer Matt Bayles, their former keyboard player. An announcement on their Facebook page on April 30, 2012, said that the new album had been recorded and that it had been sent off for mastering. On June 21, 2012, Dangerbird Records announced this album, Infinity Overhead , would be released on August 28, 2012. [12] On June 29, 2012, Minus the Bear announced on rollingstone.com the release of the first single from Infinity Overhead, entitled "Lonely Gun". On July 10, 2012, it was announced that Minus the Bear would be joining the Big Scary Monsters record label in the UK and that Infinity Overhead was to be released on BSM in September 2012. [13]
On July 10, 2013, Minus the Bear announced that they would release Acoustics II, a ten-track LP with eight acoustic versions of old songs and two new tracks. An acoustic version of "Hooray" was given to everyone who pre-ordered the album.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the They Make Beer Commercials Like This EP, the band played two small shows in the early part of 2014 on the west coast of the US. That summer, the band announced a new full-length compilation album entitled Lost Loves. The LP was released in both vinyl and CD form and contains music which did not seem to fit in a sequential order appropriate enough, at the time, to be put on a full-length release. The tracks "Invented Memory" and "Lucky Ones" were the only tracks that were unavailable before the release of the compilation. The latter was made available before the album's release through SoundCloud and on the band's official web page. The band toured in support of the new EP and continued the celebration of their Beer Commercials LP in the second half of 2014.
On January 29, 2015, the band officially announced via its Facebook page that drummer Erin Tate was no longer a member of the band because of "personal and creative differences". [14] The band then talked about future tours and continuing to work on the follow-up album to Infinity Overhead. [15] The band's sixth album, VOIDS, was released on March 3, 2017. [16]
On July 17, 2018, the band announced they would be disbanding following a farewell tour that would end on December 14 in their hometown of Seattle, and that they would be releasing a final EP, Fair Enough, in October. [17] After tickets sold out in minutes, the band added dates on December 15 and December 16. Their final live performance was December 16, 2018 at The Showbox in Seattle. [17]
The name "Minus the Bear" comes from an in-joke among the band members, referring to the 1970s television series B. J. and the Bear . "A friend of the band had gone on a date," explained singer-guitarist Jake Snider, "and one of us asked him afterwards how the date went. Our friend said, 'You know that TV show from the '70s, B. J. and the Bear? It was like that ... minus the Bear.' That’s the straight truth." [18]
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Billboard 200 | US Heat. | US Indie | US Alt. | ||
2002 | Highly Refined Pirates
| — | — | — | — |
2005 | Menos el Oso
| — | 20 | 41 | — |
2007 | Planet of Ice
| 74 | — | 8 | 22 |
2010 | Omni
| 49 | — | 9 | 8 |
2012 | Infinity Overhead
| 31 | — | 7 | 7 |
2017 | Voids
| 109 | — | 7 | 11 |
Year | Title | Label | Other information |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic | Suicide Squeeze Records | Debut release. |
2002 | Bands Like It When You Yell "Yar!" at Them | Suicide Squeeze Records | Promotional CD for Highly Refined Pirates . |
2004 | They Make Beer Commercials Like This | Arena Rock Recording Co. | Re-released in 2008 on Suicide Squeeze Records with "Houston, We Have Uh-Oh". |
2005 | Minus the Bear/City on Film 7" split | Polyvinyl Record Co. | Split EP featuring "This Ain't a Surfin' Movie (IQU Remix)". |
2008 | Acoustics | Tigre Blanco Records | Acoustic EP with "Guns & Ammo" and acoustic versions of six previously released tracks. |
2009 | "Into the Mirror" | Tigre Blanco Records | Single from Omni with B-side, "Broken China". |
2011 | "Hold Me Down" | Dangerbird Records | Single from Omni with B-side, "Broken China", including three tracks recorded live at the Dangerbird Records studios and a fan-made remix of "My Time". |
2012 | "Your Private Sky"/"South Side Life" | Dangerbird Records | 7" vinyl released for Record Store Day that includes two Omni B-sides, "Your Private Sky" and "South Side Life". |
2012 | "Steel and Blood"/"Surf-N-Turf" | Big Scary Monsters | Limited 7" vinyl released for the UK leg of their 2012 Infinity Overhead Tour. Each copy is hand numbered and has a die-cut cardboard sleeve. Only 300 transparent red records were pressed. |
2013 | Acoustics II | Dangerbird Records | Acoustic LP with two new songs and acoustic versions of eight previously released tracks. |
2014 | Lost Loves | Dangerbird Records | Collection of rare and unreleased tracks. |
2018 | Fair Enough | Suicide Squeeze Records | "Fair Enough", "Viaduct", "Dinosaur" |
2021 | Farewell | Suicide Squeeze Records | Triple LP live album and digital release. |
Year | Title | Label | Other information |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Interpretaciones del Oso | Suicide Squeeze Records | Menos el Oso remixed |
Botch was an American mathcore band formed in 1993 in Tacoma, Washington. The band, featuring Brian Cook, Dave Knudson, Tim Latona and Dave Verellen, spent four years as a garage band and released several demos and EPs before signing to Hydra Head Records. Through the label, Botch released two studio albums: American Nervoso (1998) and We Are the Romans (1999). The group toured extensively and internationally in support of their albums with like-minded bands such as The Blood Brothers, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ink & Dagger and Jesuit. Botch struggled to write a third studio album, and in 2002 the group broke up due to tensions among the band members and creative differences. Hydra Head posthumously released an EP of songs the group had been working on before they split titled An Anthology of Dead Ends and a live album documenting their final show titled 061502 in 2006.
David Knudson is an American guitarist and founding member of Seattle based indie band Minus the Bear, as well as mathcore band Botch. Other credits include additional guitars on These Arms Are Snakes' album Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home. Since the breakup of Minus The Bear, Knudson has been working on solo material; his debut solo album, The Only Thing You Have to Change is Everything, was released on May 13, 2022.
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home (2004), Easter (2006) and Tail Swallower and Dove (2008). Former members of These Arms Are Snakes currently play in Russian Circles, Narrows, Minus the Bear, Crypts, Dust Moth, and Hooves.
They Make Beer Commercials Like This is the third EP released by the band Minus the Bear on the Arena Rock Recording Co. After being remastered, it was re-released on June 3, 2008, through Suicide Squeeze Records with an added track, "Houston, We Have Uh-Oh". This song was originally released on the compilation, In Honor: A Compilation To Beat Cancer.
Menos el Oso is the second studio album from Minus the Bear and was released on August 23, 2005 by Suicide Squeeze Records. The album title is a Spanish translation of "Minus the Bear."
Sharks Keep Moving were a short-lived Seattle rock band that formed in 1998. The band's original lineup consisted of Jake Snider (guitar/vocals), Nathan Turpen (guitar), Jeff DeGolier (bass), and Dan Dean (drums). Their music was a melodic, often soft, brand of rock with odd time signatures and an almost freeform jazz influence.
Jake Snider is the former lead vocalist and guitarist in the band Minus the Bear. He also plays guitar in Onalaska. He has previously been a part of the bands Sharks Keep Moving and State Route 522. He also plays guitar in the Instrumental Rock Band The Jjen along with Justin Tamminga of Assertion.
Matt Bayles is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician, based in Seattle, Washington. Bayles is known for his work with bands such as The Classic Crime, Isis, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch, Mastodon, Minus the Bear, Burnt by the Sun, and Norma Jean and as the keyboardist for American indie rock band Minus the Bear.
Heather Duby is an American singer-songwriter.
Planet of Ice is the third full-length album from Minus the Bear, released in the UK on August 20, 2007 and in the US on August 21 by Suicide Squeeze Records. It was produced and recorded by the band's former keyboard player, Matt Bayles, in February and March 2007. It is the first Minus the Bear album to feature keyboardist Alex Rose, who replaced Matt Bayles after he left the band to concentrate on his career as a producer. It is also their last album on Suicide Squeeze Records until 2017's Voids.
Interpretaciones del Oso is a remix album by Minus the Bear, released on February 20, 2007 through Suicide Squeeze Records. Various artists reinterpreted and remixed songs from their second full-length Menos el Oso. "Interpretaciones del Oso" means "Interpretations of the Bear" in Spanish.
Sea Wolf is an American band led by Alex Brown Church, an indie folk musician based in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Kirby James Fairchild is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a guitarist of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. Fairchild has released solo material under the pseudonym All Smiles.
Acoustics is an acoustic EP from Minus the Bear. It was released on October 7, 2008, through Tigre Blanco Records. It contains an unreleased track, "Guns & Ammo", and acoustic versions of six tracks previously released in electric versions on Highly Refined Pirates, Menos el Oso, and Planet of Ice.
Omni is the fourth full-length album from Minus the Bear, released on May 4, 2010. It is their first album to be released on Dangerbird Records and was produced by Grammy Award-winner Joe Chiccarelli. On April 27, 2009, the band began recording without the support of a record label. On September 3, 2009, they announced on their Twitter that they were officially done recording.
Diesel Boy is an American punk rock band from Santa Rosa, California, United States. They were formed in 1993 and were active until 2002. In 2022, they announced they would release a new album for SBÄM Records, which was released in 2023. They have a 7" on Fat Wreck Chords, four full-length albums released on Honest Don's Records, one full-length on SBAM and a split EP with the band Divit that was released on Coldfront Records.
Infinity Overhead is the fifth full-length album from Minus the Bear, released on August 28, 2012. It is their second album to be released on Dangerbird Records and was produced by the band's former keyboardist, Matt Bayles. The album was also released in the UK by Big Scary Monsters Recording Company in September.
Suicide Squeeze Records is a Seattle, Washington-based independent record label that releases rock, pop, and metal music. Suicide Squeeze releases content on vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital. The label has also released comedy and performance art CD and DVDs.
Lost Loves is an album from Minus the Bear. The album contains rare and unreleased songs from the band's history. It was released on October 7, 2014 through Dangerbird Records.
Dust Moth is an American shoegaze/alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed by members of the bands Undertow, These Arms Are Snakes, and Minus the Bear.